


Who Was Left Behind

by SepiaDawn



Category: Macbeth - Shakespeare, SHAKESPEARE William - Works
Genre: Canon Era, Found Family, Gen, Rewrite, eeee this will hurt, idk how to tag this im so sorry, it's sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29680194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SepiaDawn/pseuds/SepiaDawn
Summary: Macduff's children and Fleance find each other after the night of the banquet. They're lost, scared, and hurting. How can you cope when you're roaming the woods with nothing but a wooden sword and your companions? Maybe an old relative in a far-off cottage can help.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Who Was Left Behind

_Fly, good Fleance!_

That’s what his father had told him.

_Fly, fly, fly!_

That’s what he did.

Now, he was trudging through the woods, a wooden sword in his hand and a damaged bag in the other. He didn’t know how long he had been running for. At some point, running turned to jogging, jogging turned to walking, and walking turned to shuffling. He was hopelessly lost, orphaned, and alone. He wouldn’t give up just yet. All the while, those horrible images and sounds kept flashing through his mind.

The lantern being torn from his hands. Whispers of unknown attackers. Darkness. Daggers and knives being drawn. Darkness. The screams of his father. Darkness. Running. Darkness. Eternal darkness. Hostile darkness. Cold darkness. Empty darkness.

The moon did not show its face tonight, and the dawn was far off. He was dragging himself through the woods. Fatigue weighed him down. Steps became heavier and more difficult. Perhaps if he stopped, rested up against a tree for just a moment...

***

Anger. Frustration. Confusion.

That’s all Collin could remember feeling before it happened. He stood in the kitchen, arguing with his mother. They had been doing a lot of arguing as of late. But in each of those arguments, there would come a lapse in harsh words where they understood each other. It only lasted a few moments, but it was enough for Collin to know that even though there were not on the same page, they were still in the same book.

In that case, however, his father was in another library entirely. One night, just off and gone. The other adults deemed him a traitor. His mother said he was dead, or would be if he was found. Collin had a feeling under all that doubt that his father was still alive. He had been trying to explain that to his mother when some messenger rushed in.

He was spouting nonsense. Something about flying for safety. His mother was panicking, shouting and running with Lily in her arms as the man left.

“I have done no harm! Should I put up a womanly defense, to tell them?” Collin caught the infant before she could be dropped by his now hysterical mother. The baby cried and Collin tried to comfort her. Kenna sat in the doorway to the room.

There were a few moments of wailing in the room, more unexpected visitors burst in. The two men had their whole faces hidden, save for their eyes. His mother pushed distressed hairs out of her face to look at them, horrified.

“What are these faces?” Ignoring her question, the men drew daggers and set upon her. Collin screamed, holding Lily close to his chest as he fleed from the scene. Kenna, suddenly active, saw what had happened and started running in the same direction. They heard their mother scream as they rushed through the back exit. Collin dared not look back at his home as it was painted with the crimson of treachery.

***

How long had it been? Fleance woke up in the same spot, his body achey and heavy with the remnants of sleep. The sky had exchanged its deep indigo hue for a bleak gray. Was it morning or afternoon? Where was he? Was there anyone around? All the questions seemed unanswerable. At the moment, Fleance’s mind could only focus on one thing: his hunger.

As he climbed to his feet to continue his trek through these strange woods, he hoped to find some rabbit or other unsuspecting creature to trap. He knew in the back of his head that he should be focused on finding his way back to Castle Lochaber, but the hunger was too great. He had not eaten since yesterday morning. If only he and his father had not gone to that forsaken banquet-!

A noise. A crunching, to be exact. Fleance hid behind a tree, grabbing his sword tightly. If he was lucky, he’d catch it before it even saw him. He was preparing to strike…

***

Collin estimated that they’d been walking at least half the day. Kenna had long given up on using her legs, so she clung to his back while he held Lily in his arms. They were heavy, and his feet found it harder to lift themselves with each step. It was to the point where Lily nearly dropped out of his arms while he trudged along. At some point, he had to rest. But not now. Lily needed him. Kenna needed him. He kept repeating the names of his younger sisters, reminding himself of his promise constantly.

Kenna spoke up.

“I hear...something.” Collin didn’t have the strength to lift up his head.

“What...what do you think it is?” Kenna listened.

“Footsteps, crunching.” He stood up a bit straighter. The crunching got louder until someone came into view, holding a sword.

“C-Collin?” Fleance dropped his sword and ran up to him. Collin stumbled back and fell on his butt.

“Fleance? Where is your father?” The younger boy pulled away, his eyes filling with tears.

“Dead, murdered, gone!” Kenna climbed off of Collin’s back to hug Fleance.

“Our Dadiadh is dead too, that’s what Mamaidh said,” she whispered to him. Collin’s eyes widened as he processed what Fleance said. They called Macduff a traitor, and Banquo now missing...could it be…? His mind was jumping to conclusions that it wouldn’t when he was thinking properly. Fleance looked at him with wide eyes, noticing the expression on his face.

“It couldn’t have been your father, their accents were not the same. I heard them talking before...before…” Collin shook his head, getting to his feet and putting Lily on his back.

“We have to keep walking, there’s no time for thinking about our fathers. Fleance, do you know where we are?” Fleance blinked, taken aback by this sudden change in demeanor.

“I don’t…” He looked around. “Wait, I may have seen these woods before.” He led the group forward. Kenna held his hand as he tried to concentrate on the types of trees and old footpaths in the area.

A narrow trail just beside a dried-up stream caught his attention.

“I know where it leads,” he said with newfound confidence.


End file.
